Chapter 217: Love Potion
They quickly found the room master Lars usually used within the club.
As soon as Eivass entered, he felt a shock.
The room was covered in red cloth—one piece of pure red cloth covered another piece of red cloth with a subtle difference in color, and beneath that, yet another piece of red cloth with yet another color.
The ceiling was white, and the floor was black. The only decoration in the room that wasn’t pure red was the lamp above.
The window was open, and the cold wind from outside flowed in, blowing the red cloths, making them flutter.
They looked like layered red long skirts, dancing as they swayed in the breeze. The color difference between each piece of red cloth was as close as lipstick shades.
Under the sunlight seeping in from outside and the ever-burning lamplight within, the differences between them were completely indistinguishable.
Shortly after entering the room, Eivass felt his eyes growing tired. The bright red that filled his vision and fluttered at a high frequency made him dizzy, and looking directly at the bulb was impossible. So, he could only lower his head… His eyes felt a constant green tint, which lingered even when he closed them.
“This is master Lars’s private room, where he often meditates,”
Mycroft said, closing the door and speaking softly. “He calls this place the ‘Green Room’.”
Eivass clicked his tongue.
He realized that Lars’s mental state was probably not good…
Or rather… staying in such a place for too long would only make one feel more uncomfortable.
“Where are his personal belongings?”
Eivass asked directly, “Let’s finish this quickly and leave. This place makes me very uncomfortable.”
“There was originally a password here, but I’ve already deciphered it for you in advance,”
Mycroft said, reaching out and pulling down a few of the red cloths. “To prevent others from entering, I also removed the riddle. That’s why it appears so empty.”
After he finished, a chest about knee-high to an adult appeared silently in the corner.
Eivass asked, “Did you open it before?”
“No, I just found the hidden chest. It was hidden using the secret arts of the Path of Adaptation. If you don’t reveal certain draperies, it cannot be seen… and if you cannot see it, you cannot correctly decode it.”
Mycroft shook his head. “Master Lars was a spy for the Iris people, the kind who could assassinate ministers. If I opened it and there was something inside that I shouldn’t see, wouldn’t I be getting myself into trouble? Whether I put it back, hid it myself, or handed it over directly, it would all lead to trouble.
“Out of caution, it’s better to find someone of high enough standing who has earned the queen’s trust to open the chest. I originally intended to find Madam Meg, but then I suddenly couldn’t find her…”
…He’s so cautious.
Is Mycroft always this afraid of trouble? As expected of a top-tier salaryman who calmly lives a plant-like life, coming to The Barrel Club at a fixed time every day…
He’s intelligent, but far too cautious…
Mycroft manipulated the safe in a specific sequence, explaining as he did, “If the mechanism isn’t opened in the correct order, the internal mechanism will trigger and destroy what is stored inside… This is a Preservation Technique commonly used for tombs or confidential documents. It’s why I’m certain that the contents inside are of extremely high value. At the same time, its existence proves that I haven’t opened it privately.”
“Yes, I witnessed all of this,”
Eivass confirmed.
Under his gaze, Mycroft easily completed the decoding of the chest.
It was as if invisible chains had disintegrated, and the chest opened on its own—the inside of the combination lock was solid, with no lock cylinder at all. This meant that physically picking the lock was completely useless; one had to either solve the combination or forcibly break it with magic.
Inside lay a soft black glove with a bracelet, a letter, a book, and a bottle of potion.
As it was inconvenient for Eivass to handle them in his wheelchair, Mycroft personally brought all these items over and handed them to Eivass and Lily.
The moment Eivass touched the glove, text directly appeared before his eyes:
[Alchemist of the Shadows]
[Extraordinary Equipment (Light Purple)]
[Armor – Gloves]
[Trait: Alchemist’s Touch (Only triggers for Path of Adaptation)]
[Potion Slots (1/3): Love Potion (64%), None, None]
[Set: Eagle in the Shadows (1/4)]
[“— Disregard morality, use any means necessary. Poisons and potions are both our sisters.”]
Eivass’s gaze settled on “Alchemist’s Touch,” and immediately, text appeared:
[You can use these gloves to touch the opponent’s skin or mucous membranes, giving them a chance to gain the effect of a pre-soaked potion or poison, as if applying it to a wound; the longer the contact time, the greater the chance of success.]
[You can rotate the bracelet to switch between potion slots, and up to three different potions or poisons can be stored.]
— This is another piece of the Eagle in the Shadows set!
Eivass was momentarily dazed.
Lily’s set was almost complete. There must be a problem somewhere…
Honestly, why don’t you Iris people just send over the last piece too?
In the game, this piece of equipment was the least significant but most versatile. It was basically a gag item.
Its effect was to give unarmed attacks made by the off-hand a chance to poison the opponent. It could also be used to obtain the effect of a pre-soaked potion instantly when it was inconvenient to drink one.
Because the potion and poison effects obtained through this method were “loose,” a potion that would normally last for one minute might be divided into six ten-second intervals. Through this method, some potions that could only be drunk once a day could be taken separately.
Therefore, some Alchemists would also take on a Tier 1 Path of Adaptation profession for this piece of equipment. For them, it was equivalent to having three short-term buff slots that could be switched at will, which was much more useful than a chance of poisoning the opponent with unarmed strikes.
However, in reality… perhaps this piece of equipment had other uses.
For example, drugging someone during a handshake… or something like that.
…But, Love Potion?
Eivass’s expression became slightly solemn. He picked up the bottle of potion from the chest and examined it carefully.
It looked like a perfume bottle. It was about the height of a thumb, and its shape resembled an inverted heart. Inside was a glittering pink potion.
Eivass carefully opened the stopper and took a whiff. He smelled a faint, stimulating scent, like cherry blossom wine. He immediately felt his heart beating more rapidly.
He took a sharp breath, “It’s the real deal…”
Unlike the two curses, [Affection] and [Lunar Mist], that Eivass had previously seized.
This item was a forbidden drug not only in Avalon but also in the Iris and Star Antinomy. This was not an Alchemical potion made by an “Alchemist” of the Path of Balance, but a Potion made by a “Witch” of the Path of Love.
For this reason, there were many imitations of Love Potion… After all, you couldn’t report it if you bought a fake.
Its effect was simple, but the fewer the words, the greater the danger.
[Love Potion – Third Tier]
[Consumable – Potion (Deep Purple)]
[Effect: Only effective when consumed by individuals of Third Tier or below. After consumption, the user will sincerely fall in love with the next person they see (Duration: 240H).]
A potion that could alter the mind… even if it only had a temporary effect and a strong stimulating scent.
This was typically something used by the Path of Love during certain special rituals, to make oneself temporarily fall in love with someone… thereby giving Flesh Sacrifice or the Feast of Chaos a special meaning.
Because it had the characteristic scent of cherry blossom wine and a faint earthy smell, it was quite recognizable. It was difficult to secretly drug someone.
However, when combined with [Alchemist of the Shadows], one could administer the potion through touch.
Master Janis had already told Eivass about that priestess’s situation.
At the time, Eivass had thought it was some bizarre love-crazed person who, even after being dismembered, maintained her affection even in death…
Now, Eivass understood everything.
That intense affection was precisely the effect of the “Love Potion.”
Eivass opened the letter and found that it was from Bone Sculpture, written to the Assassin Miss not long ago.
In the letter, Bone Sculpture calmly explained, in the tone of a mentor, how Chloe should handle the subsequent mission if his advancement on the Twilight Path failed.
This piece of [Alchemist of the Shadows] was originally Chloe’s reward for successfully completing the mission. But he had temporarily stored it here, and if Chloe obtained it, she would still have to complete the mission.
He also elaborated on his experimental results—he had inadvertently obtained this book and two bottles of potion and intended to conduct an experiment. If the target was killed and turned into a spirit servant before the effect of the Love Potion ended, the effect of affection could persist indefinitely.
Therefore, Bone Sculpture judged that the effect of the Love Potion was soul-bound, while the potion’s failure was body-based. Thus, Path of Adaptation might be able to adjust the body to make the potion’s effect last longer or to counteract it in a short period. He hoped Chloe would report this book and his experimental results to the organization.
After reading the letter, Eivass finally learned the Assassin Miss’s full name—Chloe de Cirlex.
Bone Sculpture instructed Chloe to use this potion to interact with the mission target. The remaining amount was also her reward. If it were used with the “Alchemist,” one immersion would consume one bottle of Love Potion. It could be divided into over twenty separate uses, each with about half a day’s duration.
Eivass even saw his own name on the mission list. The mark next to it was “Prioritize seduction and friendship. If identity is likely to be exposed, eliminate.”
The remaining book was also Bone Sculpture’s birthday gift to Chloe.
If Chloe no longer wished to follow the Path of Adaptation, she could switch to the Path of Love using this book.
Before submitting it to the organization, Chloe was allowed to read it first.
It was not a Grimoire that guaranteed skills after reading, but ordinary Occult Classics. However, with sufficient talent, it would be enough.
Eivass’s gaze fell upon the book.
It was a thin book with explicit forbidden images on its cover that made one blush at a glance, clearly not a decent book. It depicted three scantily clad goddesses, each holding three apples of gold, silver, and bronze, with seductive smiles directed at the “camera.”
The three apples were dripping three different colored liquids—golden, white, and pink—which poured down their raised arms and onto their bodies like libations.
The book was titled “The Three Goddesses’ Poisoned Apples.” Aside from the excellent illustrations, it held no appeal for Eivass.
However, when it came to the Path of Love…
After reading it, Eivass was suddenly lost in thought, looking up at Lily beside him.
Her eyes seemed to be drawn to the book, becoming entranced and somewhat vacant.
Update complete, meow~
